The present invention relates to the irrigation of plants grown on a nursery wire table and especially to a riser support for supporting a riser pipe on a nursery wire table.
The nursery industry commonly utilizes wire tables which are tables having a table top of a wire grid using various wire sizes and grid patterns on which potted plants are placed. The plants may be placed directly on top of the wire grid or in some cases the containers can sit inside the grid squares of the wire table. The nursery plants are then irrigated by a sprinkler system having riser pipes extending above the wire table top for sprinkling and irrigating the potted plants sitting on the wire table. When the potted plants are placed within the grid squares of the wire table top, they typically utilize every other hole. On the ground level beneath the tables, a PVC pipe or poly hose is used to deliver water to the PVC riser which protrudes through the wire table approximately 12-18 inches in height. The PVC riser is usually secured to the wire table by a wire tie or some type of clamping device. There is a coupling on top of the riser in which the irrigation device, such as a sprinkler head, is attached. In many cases, a tee joint is glued onto a feeder line to which the risers are attached and are not precisely in line and can thereby cause the riser to be off-level. In addition, this system requires a significant amount of couplings and connectors and it can be quite labor intensive.
The present invention is designed to replace a traditional PVC system used on wire tables and can be installed on a wire table attached by a locking device. A small length of PVC is glued into the riser support to serve as the riser and can have an irrigation device attached to the end of the riser pipe. The flexibility of the present nursery wire adapter allows it to fit all wire tables currently used. The present apparatus and method is a significant time saver over existing configurations and can be a significant cost savings.
Prior U.S. patents that relate to nursery irrigation systems or to sprinkler riser supports include the R. D. Chapin U.S. Pat. No. 3,606,157 for a suspension spray system consisting of an elongated flexible water main suspended normally over a greenhouse bench or the like from a tensioned cable and incorporating upright communicating nozzles independently engaged with the hangers which, through movable supports, also suspend the water main from the tensioned suspension cable. The Machut U.S. Pat. No. 5,435,490 is for a multi-functional adjustable irrigation system for plant bedding and low crop environments and has a helically threaded spray fitting adapted for insertion into standard plant bedding irrigation conduits. The spray fitting is adjustable in terms of flow direction and flow rate and can provide different spray patterns. The King U.S. Pat. No. 5,687,910 is a sprinkler riser connecting apparatus and has a connector adapted to be mounted to a vertically extending stake extending upwardly from the ground and adapted to receive a vertically extending sprinkler riser pipe therein. The Lukas U.S. Pat. No. 6,065,693 is a flower bed irrigation shower for watering flowers and others plants planted in beds. The Matt et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,701,477 has an elevated and concealed sprinkler system supported on a fence. The Demosthenes U.S. Pat. No. 3,105,510 is a riser pipe stabilizer.
The present invention is a nursery wire table riser support designed to replace the current system of installing a sprinkler pipe riser to a wire table in a nursery and clamps onto the nursery wire table wires allowing a riser pipe to be attached to the top thereof and a water line quickly attached to the riser support from beneath the wire table top.